The Question of all Questions
by ReformGirl
Summary: Reno has sleepless nights because he has something to ask. With a lot of new information, the realisation that Zoe is actually human and letting slip a perfect chance it seems he will have a lot more of these nights.


A. N.: I am doing it for Loren. She wants it, I deliver. We have a weird friendship going on.

Nothing is mine :)

The Question of all Questions

Exactly 5 weeks. It was exactly 5 weeks since Keden allowed him to walk with her to the 6th block of the main street. Since then they walked twice per week together. Zoe joined them once per week. These 5 weeks Reno learned a lot.

For example he learned that Keden was forgiving and trusting, but ruthless when it came to the style covers of books which were part of a book series. She had an on addiction bordering weakness for chocolate (he realized pretty soon that this detail helped him to pass some really nasty assignments on her without making Keden angry). She also loved to change her hair colour. For quite some time now she was thinking about dying her dark hair bronze with a tone of honey.

He also learned that Zoe was unforgiving and mistustful, but sincerely honest. She liked to make noises instead of using words to express her disapproval or her pleasure, because she was convinced that words can be misinterpreted.

Keden seemed to live in her own inner world, while Zoe turned her inner world into reality.

Both had a long term controversy about if Tseng controlled their e-mails and memos or not, but agreed when it came to hair accessories and nail polish.

In return they got to know that Reno was sharper than they thought, that he was saving his money to buy the newest model of a specific motor cycle and that his enthusiasm for sports was virtually absent. He told them that controlling emails and memos would fit into Tseng's character but that he had no time for games like these; putting an end to the seemingly never-ending-argument. They noticed that he liked to run his fingers through his hair. Asked, why he did it so often, he replied that he likes the structure of his hair. He refused to let Keden and Zoe touch it and so he realized that he didn't like it when others touched his hair.

But despite all this overflowing information there was still something preying on his mind. Something which went around his head even when sleeping, making him wake up abruptly and shout „Why?!" half asleep.

Today Zoe joined them again. First they talked about the new nurse and agreed on finding her sexy. They were almost at the end of the 6th block. Zoe would go to the right after that, Keden to the left. Neither allowed him even once to walk further with them.

So he didn't have much time. He needed to ask. Just a few meters before they reached the end of the block he saw his chance. He had to be careful, had to think about what to say.

„Why aren't you wearing the turk suits for work?" He just burst out with the question. So much for thinking about how to elegantly formulate the question.

They stopped, because they reached the end of the block.

Zoe looked at him; neutral face, but wondering in her eyes. „Isn't that obvious?"

Reno forgot that Zoe saw everything she did with a naturalness nobody, not even Keden, could understand.

„It's not, Zoe. Someone who isn't familiar with your kind of logic can't follow. And gosh, your logic everything, but obvious." It was the first time Keden took Reno's side. His one half was relieved that he wasn't the only one who had problems with Zoe's kind of thinking. The other half was embarassed, because the one who protected him from the verbal barbs was his assistant. He decided to drop these thoughts for now. He had realised for a long time now that dealing with these two was more than uncommon and the more he would think about it, the more he would wake up at night and shout half asleep questions at the wall.

„Then I will enlighten you." Zoe's face got different now. She looked pleasant, but also stern. Like a teacher who explains an especially difficult topic to her students, being absolutely sure that these were smart enough to get it. „We aren't Turks. We are your assistants, yes. And we work at the same department. But we are not Turks. It would be inappropiate to wear the suits."

That made actually sense.

„Then why is Keden wearing normal clothes, but you aren't? Yours look ... kinda uniformish." He didn't know how to describe it any better. Zoe's clothes were no uniforms, but the look of them gave the impression as if she was at an academy or as if she was a general.

„Because of the 3 – stepped – attractive – pyramide."

Keden chuckled and Zoe gave her a stern look. Then she used her right hand to exemplify her theory. „On top: uniforms (her hand, horizontal, at a height of her face), then suits (chest height) and then robes (belly height)."

He had to admit that these kind of clothes made people really more attractive. But his curiousness wasn't satisfied yet. „Why are uniforms on top?"

Zoe's answer took some time; with her forefinger at her lips and an intense look she thought about it. When she looked up it was like she just attained the most important cognition of her life. „First of all: Everyone looks good in an uniform, it makes everyone attractive. Second: They radiate safety. And power. And being elite."

„And money." Keden added giggling."

„Yeah, and money." Admitting that seemed not hard for Zoe., it actually sounded thankful for completing her thoughts.

Reno started to grin. He put one and one together. „We Turks wear uniforms, too. Does that make us sexy?" He asked.

Zoe broke out in laughter. It was the first time he saw and heard her laughing. It kind of irritated him. It wasn't ugly or spiteful, as he imagined. It was fullhearted and he kind of got the feeling that he earned that laughter by hard work.

„You can't call mere black suits uniforms" she answered as she calmed down. „Well, I'm off." Without any further explanation she turned around, walking bouncily, making her ponytail wag more like usual.

„That was..." Reno tried to find the right word.

„Weird" Keden finished the sentence.

„Yeah..." Zoe's reasoning why she wore the clothes she did made him think of another question. „So she wants to be attractive with these uniformish clothes?"

„I think so, yes. And you have to admit that it works. Kind of."

He had to admit it. In her own weird way she worked these „uniforms".

Today he got more information than he could handle, but he still had one question left. „I understand now why Zoe wears these clothes. But why aren't you then?"

Keden gave a bell – like chuckle. „Because I don't need uniforms to be attractive." She looked at him, like she was expecting something specific now.

Reno looked back, once again studying her unique eyes. She used mascara, but no eyeshadow.

Suddenly she rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed huff, turned around and went away, without any words.

Then it hit him. That was the perfect opportunity for a compliment. It was handed on a silver platter. And he let it slip.

In a few minutes he learned that Zoe had some kind of a sense for appropriate and inappropriate. He made her laugh and thus realised she was human. He let the chance slip to compliment Keden.

2 to 1; not a bad result for today. But still he felt like a complete loser.


End file.
